Tar Heels try to solve puzzle in Belk Bowl

Published: Sunday, December 8, 2013 at 11:17 PM.

North Carolina will try to pull off what Duke came short of doing a year ago.

Beat Cincinnati in the Belk Bowl.

North Carolina accepted a spot in the only college bowl game in the Carolinas on Sunday. The Tar Heels (6-6) will take on Cincinnati at 3:20 p.m. Dec. 28 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

“I’m excited for our team, especially our seniors, who fought through some early season adversity and won five of the last six games to become bowl eligible,” North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said in a statement from the school. “This is a resilient bunch of guys that kept believing in one another throughout the year.”

Cincinnati (9-3) has won six of its last seven games.

Last year, the Bearcats defeated Duke 48-34 in the Belk Bowl.

This will be North Carolina’s fourth appearance in the Charlotte bowl. The Tar Heels have lost in their previous three trips, falling to Boston College in 2004, to West Virginia in 2008 and to Pittsburgh in 2009.

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North Carolina will try to pull off what Duke came short of doing a year ago.

Beat Cincinnati in the Belk Bowl.

North Carolina accepted a spot in the only college bowl game in the Carolinas on Sunday. The Tar Heels (6-6) will take on Cincinnati at 3:20 p.m. Dec. 28 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

“I’m excited for our team, especially our seniors, who fought through some early season adversity and won five of the last six games to become bowl eligible,” North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said in a statement from the school. “This is a resilient bunch of guys that kept believing in one another throughout the year.”

Cincinnati (9-3) has won six of its last seven games.

Last year, the Bearcats defeated Duke 48-34 in the Belk Bowl.

This will be North Carolina’s fourth appearance in the Charlotte bowl. The Tar Heels have lost in their previous three trips, falling to Boston College in 2004, to West Virginia in 2008 and to Pittsburgh in 2009.